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Books mentioned

Born in a Bristol whorehouse, scrappy Ruth stumbles into a career as a pugilist after a brawl with her half-sister attracts a betting audience. As Ruth enters the gritty, brutal world of professional prize-fighters, she encounters aspiring boxer Charlotte Sinclair, for whom the ring serves as an escape from her abusive marriage and a place where her smallpox scars do not attract notice; and gambler George Bowden, who hopes that backing the right fighter will make him a wealthy man. Bouncing between brothel and boxing ring, this debut skillfully depicts the seamy underbelly of Georgian England. — Description by Gillian Speace.

In 1883, the Lady Jenny Gallagher, age 23, died suddenly at her home of Deeprath Castle, deep in the Irish countryside. Though her death was ruled an accident, theprecise circumstances are unknown. In 1992, Cillian Gallagher and his beautiful wife Lily were found dead within the castle walls. A suicide/murder? Or two murders? In 2015, Carragh Ryan is offered the job of taking an inventory of the vast library at Deeprath Castle. A great lover of books, Carragh can’t resist the opportunity to gain access to the historic collection. But what she finds at the castle–and in its enigmatic heir, Aidan Gallagher–leads Carragh ever deeper into the heart of an ancient and sinister family secret.

One warm West Texas November night, a shy boy named OliverLoving joins his classmates at Bliss Township School’s annual dance, hoping for a glimpse of the object of his unrequited affections, an enigmatic junior named Rebekkah Sterling. But as the music plays, a troubled young man sneaks in through the school’s back door. The dire choices this man makes that evening — and the unspoken story he carries — will tear the town of Bliss, Texas, apart. Nearly ten years later, OliverLovingstill lies wordless and paralyzed at Crockett State Assisted Care Facility, the fate of his mind unclear. Orbiting the still point of Oliver’s hospital bed is a family transformed: Oliver’s mother, Eve, who keeps desperate vigil; Oliver’s brother, Charlie, who has fled for New York City only to discover he cannot escape the gravity of his shattered family; Oliver’s father, Jed, who tries to erase his memories with bourbon. And then there is Rebekkah Sterling, Oliver’s teenage love, who left Texas long ago and still refuses to speak about her own part in that tragic night. When a new medical test promises a key to unlock Oliver’s trapped mind, the town’s unanswered questions resurface with new urgency, as Oliver’s doctors and his family fight for a way for Oliver to finally communicate — and so also tell the truth of what really happened that fateful night.

Join our Tea and Tales Book Club!

New year, new book club! The Tea and Tales Book Club reads a mix of historical fiction and the classics. The club meets the third Tuesday of each month at noon.

Read More! 2019

It’s the fourth year of our reading challenge, and we’ve prepared new categories to get you reading more! The Read More! 2019 Reading Challenge (or Read More! 2019) invites you to read 24 books throughout 2019. That’s two books a month. We’ve also added two bonus categories for those of you who would like to challenge yourself further.